15 Websites You Need to Know as a Digital Nomad

Traveling the world and working remotely is a very exciting way to live your life. However, as you travel more than the average person you need to handle your affairs differently than those who live in the same country all year round. Therefore, I have collated a brief list of 15 websites that will help you out in all major aspects of your life as a digital nomad.

Nomad Life

Whether you have a question about a place or you are about to decide on which city to visit next or even looking for a soulmate, these are the sites that will cater for your needs.

The Nomad List ranks several cities according to factors such as the cost of living, current weather, English speaking levels, racial tolerance, and even internet speeds. It allows you to join a list of nomads in the country you will be visiting and be part of the digital community where you can ask questions and interact with your peers. As a nomad, it enables you to easily choose your next destination as you are made aware of affordability comfort and internet reliability. A major plus of nomad list is that it keeps updating its data frequently thus making it as accurate as possible.

The Digital Nomad Forum is a popular question and answer platform for long-term travelers. It allows you to discuss issues concerning places, safety concern, travel hacks and much more with fellow nomads.

Travelling is wonderful but it makes it hard to build lasting relationships. Nomad soulmates is in the process of building an app that will make dating as a nomad easier. It will give you the opportunity to interact with people who are as nomadic as you that are looking for companionship. You never know, you may find a lifetime partner who shares similar views and values towards life as you do.

Money Transfers and Travel Insurance

For money transfer and insurance matters, the sites below will help you.

Xe.com is the go-to site to find out what the exchange rate is in the next country you will be traveling to. But it’s important to keep in mind that XE will show you the current mid rate. When you exchange money, however, you will receive a worse rate than the mid rate as that is how money exchange bureaus make money.

Transferring money across borders can be very expensive when using your bank or large Money Transfer Operators such as Western Union or MoneyGram. Fortunately, however, you can be charged as low as 0.5% to 1% when transferring money. Transferwise allows you to transfer money using their app or web-based platform at a very low cost in all major currencies. It’s an excellent service to use if you need to make payments abroad.

With WorldRemit you can send money online to a bank abroad, send money for cash pickup or send money to mobile wallets. The cash transfer transaction is credited the same day and is usually transferred within minutes. What I like about WorldRemit is that it covers exotic currencies of smaller countries that many other money transfer startups don’t. Also, it’s easy-to-use website and mobile app make transferring money across borders extremely simple.

On World Nomads, you get can get insurance coverage for all traveling eventualities. From the usual medical needs, evacuation, baggage, to a wide range of adventure sports and activities such as skiing and snowboarding in scuba diving among others. Additionally, you are kept up to speed with their travel alerts, online travel journals and you can apply for a cover online while already on the road. Another great value add is the online community which allows you to ask questions, swap stories, give and get advice.

Cheap Flights

If you are traveling on a budget and need cheap flights, you should check out these sites.

Skyscanner compares millions of flights to find you the cheapest deal. From Kenya to Tokyo you can find low-cost flights to get you there. This site compares several flights, hotels and car rentals to choose the best deals. It is very easy to use and redirects you to the cheapest flight and hotel options providers once you have made your pick.

Kayak searches hundreds of other travel sites at once to provide you with the information you need to make the right decisions on flights, hotels, cars, and rentals. This site allows you to view the different routes from where you are to where you want to be and gives you options based on different prices. Kayak will save you money and time especially when you need to travel on a budget.

Accommodation

For all your accommodation and booking needs, you should check out the following sites.

Expedia allows you to book hotels, flights, rental cars, cruises and activities from one site. The best thing is that it allows to you to change or cancel any hotel reservations for free. If you are a regular traveler, you can benefit from Expedia by joining as a member so as to enjoy discounts and loyalty programs.

On booking.com, you can make hotel bookings and explore a wide variety of travel accommodations such as resorts, hostels, vacation rentals and homestays among others. It has 1,109,321 properties in its database and its major focus is on price affordability.

Airbnb operates as an online homestay marketplace that enables people to list or rent short term lodging in residential properties. This site has listings from over 34000 cities thus making it possible for anyone to find accommodation anywhere in the world.

Hostelworld is a hostel booking platform and is available in 19 languages. It focuses on helping millennials and budget-conscious travelers live their dream of seeking adventure and social traveling experience. It also has group bookings for traveling groups of 9+, which makes it more affordable.

On Hostels.com, you can choose any hostel to stay in from over 33,000 great places in over 170 countries. This site also offers video guides, travel podcasts and free city guides with information on where to eat, accommodation and things to see and do.

This is a social networking and hospitality service site. It connects travelers and hosts. Usually, the host agrees to host a traveler at his/her home and the traveler sleeps on his couch for an agreed number of days. The traveler gets to be part of the family and experience things the native way and make friends. Couch surfing also has events in different cities to bring couch surfers together.

For more information on location independent working and money tips for nomads, check out the Digital Nomadism section of the blog! Happy travels!

Alex founded SmartMoneySmartLiving.com in 2015 to empower millennials to take control of their financial future. He is a former bond trader who is passionate about cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and investing.